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Gulliver's Travels

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A masterpiece. A must-read

312 pages, Paperback

First published August 12, 2015

12 people are currently reading
118 people want to read

About the author

Jonathan Swift

4,959 books2,181 followers
Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, hence his common sobriquet, "Dean Swift".
Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729). He is regarded by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the foremost prose satirist in the English language. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M.B. Drapier—or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian and Juvenalian styles.
His deadpan, ironic writing style, particularly in A Modest Proposal, has led to such satire being subsequently termed "Swiftian".

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21 (28%)
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29 (38%)
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Profile Image for Ron.
194 reviews2 followers
February 28, 2025
Drawn out with constant inconsequential details. Fabulously imaginative for its time.
37 reviews
July 4, 2025
Great classic. not my preferred story. but can't throw shade at it. it's entertaining and incredibly well written.
Profile Image for Bernie4444.
2,526 reviews11 followers
October 12, 2023
A closet libertarian.

It is not Jonathan Swift’s fault that the writing is archaic. This may be overlooked if it was not so redundant and trivial. It can easily put you to sleep.

We all know that these stories are supposed to be a thin veil for an agenda. Everyone from H. G. Wells to Ayn Rand hit you over the head with their agenda from the first. But no Jonathan rattles with 10 pages to describe what is in his pockets including his hidden pocket. (Who Cares?) And the book is filled with mundane descriptions. I think he is using this to flesh out what would be a 25-page manifesto. It is not until you get halfway through the book that, except for a few snide remarks about kings he finally coughs up his point.

“…, Whether a private man’s house might not be better defended by himself, his children, and family, then by half-a-dozen rascals, picked up at a venture in the streets for small wages, who might get a hundred times more by cutting their throats?”

He goes on to pick on just about all the politics and ventures of England at the time. Paranoid readers can see the parallels between the book and today’s news. However, if it is that important then dump Swift and just watch the news.

Anyhow it is not worth the time to read this book unless you are interested in someone who defecates at the end of his chain and dells about it in detail.
167 reviews
May 13, 2023
This book was different to what I expected it to be. Apart from it controversial review as a book full of political meaning, it is a well written imaginative piece that enchants your mind.

Book follows the adventures of a Gulliver, a surgeon and captain on ships. After a span of 16 years, Gulliver ends up visiting for different lands; each with zone, unique communities, and aspects on life.

I in spite of, the old English (it was written in the 18th century), he has a great rate full of imagination, and and descriptive language attacks, the reader into the lands, which Jonathan swift describes in his book.

It is definitely a book for the ages.
8 reviews
September 2, 2014
Loved this book as a child, when I read it again a couple of years ago, enjoyed it even more, it's certainly not a children's only book, but transcends the generations, in a similar way to Orwell's "Animal Farm"
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews

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